Chapter 27: 4-5
The Laws Pertaining to Torah Study
4. When a person interrupts his studies and is forced to leave his place of
study, he should not leave his texts open, for this causes him to forget
his studies.
5. A person must take care to study out loud, verbalizing everything he
studies to the extent that he can hear his voice as [Joshua 1:8] states:
"This Torah scroll shall not depart from your mouth, and you shall think
about it day and night" (Eruvin 54a).
A person who pronounces words of Torah without understanding them fulfills
the mitzvah of Torah study.* Therefore, an unlearned person recites the
blessings for Torah study every morning before he recites the verses and
before he is called to the Torah. Whoever occupies himself with Torah
study, even though he does not understand it because of his limited
comprehension, will merit to understand it in the world to come.
* {The above applies only to study of the written law (Torah shebichtav). A
person receives credit for study of the oral law (Torah sheb'al peh) only
if he comprehends the subject matter.}
